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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Brew Review - Funky Buddha Brewery - Oakland Park, FL

Feelin' the funk

On our awesome Florida trip, we had the opportunity to stop a nice little place on our way from Miami Beach up to West Palm Beach where our friends live. Luckily my friend is a beer nut like me and we stopped at a sweet brewery named Funky Buddha in Oakland Park, FL. All I can say is that this place has awesome beer and an even more awesome setup. We rolled in at around noon on Friday right as they were opening. It is a newer brewery in a strip mall, but as I was told and eventually noticed, everything in Florida is in a strip mall. We walked in and I was impressed by the huge space enough that I started immediately snapping pictures. Cool murals on the walls with quotes that called on a hippie feel and artwork that could have been in Jerry Garcia's family room. The only thing missing was incense in the air.

The bar was big and beautiful and ran the entire length of the massive space. Hardwood, mixed with sheet metal that gave an industrial feel. Sort of what I expect out of sweet brewery. Tables and chairs filled the rest of the main area. We walked up to the bar to order our first beers and the bartender could not be nicer. After having a few tastes of their in-house brews, we settled (I'll get to what we got in a second) and headed to the back where the real treasures were at.

We walked through an arc that said 'Bocce & Cornhole Courts'. Being Italian and growing up with a Bocce court in my back yard, I was thrilled to put my skills to work. As we walked out we all were stunned at the amazing area. A Bocce court next to a full area for cornhole with a bar ledge and bar stools to fit a ton of people. Their was a huge garage door that opened up into the back of the brewery where train tracks were, which was another cool feature. Everything was beside the brewing area where massive kettles and brewers were busy brewing.

We started up the first Bocce game and continued to drink our great beers. We followed it up with a few games of cornhole. Their beers were perfectly matched with the warm weather and outdoor games we had at our disposal. Here's what we had:

Hop Gun

Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.7%

This is the flagship beer of Funky Buddha. It was a perfect mix of citrus and floral flavors that were accepted by a punch of hoppiness. This beer was awesome and we ended up getting a growler of it to take home with us. 4.5 out of 5.

Pomegranate Floridian

Style: Hefeweizen

ABV: 5.6%

This was light and delightful. A great warm weather beer and perfect for Bocce at the brewery. The pomegranate definitely came through and was a great accent to the flavor. 4 out of 5.

Raspberry Floridian

Style: Hefeweizen

ABV: 5.6%

We loved the Pomegranate so much, we got the Raspberry. Another perfect beer for the hot Florida sun with my sons. 3.5 out of 5.

Overall, the place was absolutely amazing. I had not had a Florida beer that I liked until the day I visited this brewery. It truly brought the funk to my thoughts of Florida beer. Let's hope Funky Buddha starts some competition where we can all benefit.